China and Taiwan?

After WWII, while China was in a complete ruin, the communists with USSR's full backing of money, weapons, military consultants, political consultants, threw a violent revolution and took power in China and renamed it to PRC. The old democratic ROC government and millions of people moved over to Taiwan (Formosa).

At the time, because Hong Kong - a British colony, also could be easily overrun by the communists, plus the concerns of USSR threats in Europe, Brits were first countries to recognize PRC to keep peace in Hong Kong. Even later for democratization of Hong Kong, when PRC voiced against the ideas, the Brits would listen.

ROC is one of the original founder of UN. ROC was an ally with US during the Korean war time. ROC and US had mutual defense treaty. ROC air force flew U2 and other missions for quite some time (see Black Cats and Black Bats). ROC Taiwan was a large logistic base for US during Vietnam war era. US assisted Taiwan during the three Taiwan Strait Crises.

After US lost Vietnam war, the communists found their way to Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos), and more over there were/are communist forces and guerrilla groups in Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippines.

At then PRC and USSR relations went sour. US decided to play "China card" by recognizing PRC to contain then USSR. Hence, US made Taiwan Relations Act as US law - recognize Taiwan as a de fecto country.

Today, ROC Taiwan is recognized by 22 countries including the Vatican. ROC Taiwan passport holders can visit 140 countries without needing to acquire for a Visa. PRC has been claiming Taiwan as part of "China" and has been blocking Taiwan from establishing diplomatic relations with other countries. PRC has been blocking Taiwan from signing free trade agreement with Malaysia and Australia.

As for UN membership:

In 1971, PRC was very poor and was at the end of their Cultural Revolution. People suffered from CCP and red guard persecution. Traditional culture was denounced. Many historical artifacts and buildings were destroyed. Economy was in shamble.

PRC however, gave Albania (a new communist state at that time) large sum of foreign aids. Albania in turn, lead the effort of getting PRC into UN. All communist states went along, together with Brits and French voted for PRC. US didn't have enough votes to keep ROC Taiwan within UN (ROC was one of the original founders of UN).

To this day, PRC is still spending a lot of money buying influences around the world - easy to see things including CCTV4, CCTV7, ICN TV, newspaper, Confucius schools/institutes, Chinese culture clubs, 50-cents propaganda army, etc. This is their tax payers' money. Their own poor kids can't afford going to school and their regular people can't afford getting sick.

While PRC CCP grab power/money, persecuting its own people, and spend money on foreign propaganda, many international NGO including good folks in Taiwan have been donating to building hundreds of Hope Schools in PRC. What an irony?

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The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. -Dante Alighieri

Up until the fifties, the Nationalists (Taiwan, for easy reference) were recognised as the legitimate government of the whole of China. It had a permanent seat on the security council of the UN, and was universally (if grudgingly) recognised. After the Korean war, the UN changed its mind and recognition (together with the security council membership and the veto) was moved to the People's Republic of China.

To this day, Taiwan (aka Chinese Taipei) is not recognised as a separate country. It is not a member of United Nations, for example. Of the 193 UN members twenty-something still officially recognise Taiwan as the legitimate government of China as a whole.

ROC was the legitimate government of all China before the Communist takeover. When Mao's troops overran most of mainland China, they decamped to the island of Formosa (Taiwan in Han Chinese) and took it over, much to the indignation of the native Formosans. Britain, the US and the United Nations continued to recognise ROC as the legitimate Chinese government in exile until the 1960s.

taiwan is the indepandent goverment